Fascinating Campania

Land of colours, taste, ancient craft and people  -  10 days

 

     

       

1^st  day: Arrival of guests in Caserta and hotel accommodation; walk through the town to taste welcome cocktail before dinner in a typical restaurant with a menu realized according to the ancient cuisine traditions of Campania.

 

2^nd day: Caserta among Bourbons, middle classes and workers

Visit of the Bourbons’ Royal Palace, built by the architect Vanvitelli, and of its Italian luxuriant and exotic gardens; transfer by Silk bus towards Belvedere San Leucio to stop and visit the Silk Museum where it will be possible to admire the looms, wanted by King Ferdinand, and the near Bourbons’ working-class area; we’ll then proceed towards Borgo Vecchio to have lunch on your own in one of the many restaurants. Walk through the medieval centre and stop at a Romanesque church. Return to the hotel for relax before a guided aperitif and an original gourmet dinner at Restaurant Le Colonne, tasting local products such as the buffalo mozzarella (typical renowned cheese), the black pig and the pasta with aubergines.

 

3^rd day:  Between colours and taste in the district of Benevento

After breakfast, transfer by bus and visit of the historical centre of San Lorenzello and Cerreto Sannita (the ancient shops in both towns well preserve the art of ceramics that has been passed down over the centuries with its many valuable objects such as aspersoriums, soup tureens, trays). Stop at an artisan workshop for a short lesson on ceramics. Transfer to Castelvetere (ancient medieval village where an exhibition of products of the local agriculture and craft is held every last weekend of each month), to visit its many tuff cellars. Country-style lunch at the Fattoria  Ciabrelli di Castelvetere, tasting the excellent DOC wines. After lunch, visit of the Museum of Country People inside a suggestive and mysterious cellar that contains  ancient tools used for work and wine production. Short excursion to Solopaca to visit the MEG (Food and Wine Museum). In the late afternoon, return to Benevento for relax before tasting-dinner with typical products of Sannio at the Restaurant La Rete.

 

4^th day: Sant’Agata dei Goti and Benevento

Breakfast and departure for Sant’Agata dei Goti. Visit of the wonderful town, one of the most beautiful village in Italy, and of its many churches, mosaics, hidden places, suggestive corners. Transfer to the Fattoria Torre Gaia in Dugenta to visit the ancient casks’ cellar and taste renowned local wines. Lunch with typical menu and return to Benevento for a guided tour of the historical centre. The town is also known as the town of the witches, also because of its famous liqueur, called “Strega” (witch). Its many suggestive and wonderful monuments date back to 4 main periods: the Samnitic, the Roman, the Longobard and the Pontifical ages. Stop at a producer of the Liqueur Strega for tasting. In the evening you’ll be looking for the famous “streghe beneventane” with free time at disposal for relax and dinner on your own; return to the hotel.

 

5^th day: Irpinia

Meeting with the local guide and departure for Irpinia. We’ll transfer towards Montella, that has become famous in the world thanks to its delicious fruit: the renowned IGP chestnut of Montella. Visit of a factory that produces chestnuts and tasting of by-products. Transfer for a pick. nick in the forest of Montemarano (AV). Relaxing time under the majestic chestnut-trees. In the afternoon we’ll visit the wine-cellar of Salvatore Molettieri, winner of the prize “Best red wine in Italy” according to the Gambero Rosso guide, for its wine Aglianico di Taurasi. Hotel accommodation and gala dinner at restaurant Megaron in Paternopoli, a refined restaurant that proposes dishes of the traditional cuisine that has been properly reviewed by the chef Valentina Martone.

 

6^th day: Ofanto’s Valley and Calitri

Meeting with local guide and departure for Calitri, a small village located on a hill of the upper Ofanto’s Valley. Visit of the interesting and unique Museum of Interactive Sciences in Calitri. Walk through the narrow alleys of the historical centre to reach an ancient maturing cellar of the renowned local cheese “caciocavallo irpino”. Explanation of the processing and maturing phases of this typical cheese and following tasting together with the local bread made with corn meal. Calitri is the only village in Irpinia, where bread is still produced with hard wheat flour and backed in ancient wood-fired ovens. Lunch on your own. In the afternoon: visit of an artisan that works ceramic, to learn the secrets of this ancient art. It’ll be possible to buy ceramics and vases. Typical Castelvetere dinner and return to the hotel.

 

7^th day: the Amalfi Coast

Transfer to the Amalfi Coast with en-route stop in Amalfi to visit the artisan paper-mill Amitrano, to learn the production techniques of paper and parchment and then to visit the co-operative producing the smelling lemons of Salerno and distilling the Limoncello. Lunch on your own. Transfer to Positano to admire the beauty of its landscape, the stone based village and to discover the secret of its creative and coloured fashion creations. Free time for shopping. Following dinner with sea dishes’ menu; arrival in Ravello for hotel accommodation.

 

8^th day: Cooking lesson in a Ravello and pizza in Tramonti

Cooking lesson at Villa Amelia, to learn the secrets of a typical seasonal menu: vegetables in oil, home-made pasta, dishes of meat/fish, local wines; afternoon walk in Tramonti, land of Naples’s renowned pizza, to visit an olive grove and a producer of DOC wines. Dinner with pizzas and return to the hotel.

 

9^th day: Naples

Excursion to Naples for hotel accommodation and guided visit of the town. Lunch on your own. In the afternoon, excursion to Capodimonte to know the secrets of the craftsmanship of vases and reproduction of the Christian shepherds and cribs. Free time for shopping and following traditional dinner with a typical seasonal Neapolitan menu. Return to the hotel.

 

10^th day: Phlegraean Fields

Visit of Naples’ fish market with its colours, its voices, and the abundance of its fish. Excursion towards the Phlegraean Fields to visit a producer of DOC wines with tasting of goodbye lunch; Transfer to the airport. End of the tour.